Photocatalytic H2 Production Using Semiconductor Nanomaterials via Water Splitting – An Overview

Abstract

Heterogeneous semiconductor based photocatalytic hydrogen (H2) production by water splitting is one of the widely recognized promising sustainable technologies to deliver clean energy for future energy demands. The present review article mainly focus on the overview of principle of water splitting, different semiconductor nanomaterials used for photocatalytic water splitting in the presence of UV and solar light irradiation, role of sacrificial reagents, simultaneous degradation of pollutants and H2 production reaction, strategy for development of efficient photocatalyst for H2 production. Further the flaws associated with present photocatalytic system like recombination rate of electron–hole pairs, low visible-light response, use of hazardous irradiation sources and surface area of photocatalyst etc. has also been discussed. Recently the use of energy efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs) as an irradiation source for H2 production is highly attracted due to its unique characteristics. Recent literature on LED source based photocatalytic system for H2 production has also been summarized and highlighted. At last, the future prospects and challenges towards the designing of better photocatalytic system for H2 production have also been discussed. From the literature survey, it is concluded that construction of efficient photocatalytic system for simultaneous degradation of pollutants and H2 production under energy efficient irradiation source offer clean and simple system for solving the futuristic environmental concerns and energy crisis.